Dacia wanted to build a deeper brand affinity with Italian families, and as such it used its Udinese soccer team sponsorship to connect with sports fans and their loved ones.

Dacia tackled the issue of violence within sporting events by creating a family incentive for fans to take a pregnancy test at the stadium and, depending on the results, gifting them and the baby with a season ticket.

The campaign, which used TV, social and media partnerships, launched several short films, featuring Udinese players thanking the parents for creating the next generation of fans, an app for matching fertile days with the team's game calendar, and a final stadium event honouring hundreds of pregnant women.

The campaign achieved a 12% increase in family car sales.

2

BMW Group and BMW of North America: Eyes on Gigi

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

MMA Smarties, Gold and Silver, 2016

This case study describes how BMW, a German car maker, used immersive and interactive video content to drive awareness of BMW M2 vehicles.

This case study describes how BMW, a German car maker, used immersive and interactive video content to drive awareness of BMW M2 vehicles.

With competitors pushing harder and harder on performance claims every day, BMW's ownership of thrill-inducing driving performance was being threatened.

'Eyes on Gigi', a digital/social-first campaign featured Victoria's Secret model Gigi Hadid in a new interpretation of the classic game of three-cup shuffle - only here, the ball was Gigi and the cups were 365-horsepower BMW M2s.

The campaign was amplified on social, leveraging YouTube and Facebook for their 360 video capabilities.

In less than 6 weeks, the campaign saw 36 million views across YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, with an additional 162 million views garnered via WeChat in China.

3

Volvo US: The Greatest Interception

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Cannes Creative Lions, Creative Effectiveness Lions, 2016

This case study shows how Volvo, the automaker, raised its profile in the US with a Super Bowl campaign on a limited budget.

This case study shows how Volvo, the automaker, raised its profile in the US with a Super Bowl campaign on a limited budget.

Volvo needed to boost awareness of the launch of its XC90 model, but only had a fraction of the media budget of rivals - meaning that purchasing airtime for a Super Bowl TV ad was out of the question.

So the campaign strategy was based around a social media contest: to win a new XC90 model, people only needed to tweet with the hashtag #VolvoContest - but, to enter, they needed to tweet while a rival car's commercial was playing on TV.

This Twitter push was backed with online video and earned media coverage to build buzz.

In all, there were 55,000 #VolvoContest tweets, 230m media impressions, and a 70% increase in sales year-on-year for one of the Volvo models.

4

Vauxhall: Listening to Leads

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Direct Marketing Association - UK, Bronze 2015

This case study demonstrates how Vauxhall, the car manufacturer, used a data-led strategy to better target prospects and increase conversion.

This case study demonstrates how Vauxhall, the car manufacturer, used a data-led strategy to better target prospects and increase conversion.

Vauxhall found that its communications were often reaching the wrong people at the wrong time, negatively impacting consideration and conversion.

It used the Vauxhall website, email platform and web-tracking tool to profile web behaviour for over 100,000 prospects and analysis isolated typical behaviours that preceded a sale.

Using this data, it set up rules to pick up online behaviour about customers' purchase intentions, which would then trigger a dynamically personalised email programme to reach them with content relevant to their stage of the journey.

This data-driven journey has delivered a 523% uplift in prospect-to-lead conversion and 370% sales increase.

This case study demonstrates how Skoda, the automotive brand, reversed falling sales and lack of popularity through a social media campaign.

Skoda had never been one of the most popular car marques in Spain, and following the economic crisis, sales had fallen drastically.

To improve its favourability and turn sales around, it decided that instead of sponsoring a sports team it would sponsor one of the small Spanish towns that was in danger of being deserted because of its dwindling population.

By offering to donate a car and fund someone to take the role of driver for the town's 70 inhabitants, it garnered a lot of positive coverage and resulting in another family moving there.

Brand affinity rose drastically and Skoda received media and social media coverage and sales for the period of the campaign rose by over 20%.

To engage fans more and to give them a reason to buy its cars, Hyundai focused on an app which allowed people to create a vehicle out of its models that was a zombie-proof survival machine.

This generated buzz on social media and tripled rather than doubled the target of fan's engagement with the app, tripled the number of social shares with a positive lift of 71% and increased web traffic by 122% in 3 months - all leading to an 11.09% increase in purchase consideration.

This case study describes how Korean car manufacturer Hyundai used a new method of synchronising TV and website activity to help reach the crucial 24-35 target market of second-screen viewers in Germany.

This case study describes how Korean car manufacturer Hyundai used a new method of synchronising TV and website activity to help reach the crucial 24-35 target market of second-screen viewers in Germany.

Hyundai wanted to launch a new model, the i10, into the highly competitive German car market and to create a smoother, more connected customer journey.

The marketing solution responded to the way many TV viewers are watching - with a second screen - by detecting when the brand's ad is airing and serving corresponding ads to the second screen in real time.

It also triggers a bespoke landing page over the top of the Hyundai website, specific to the TV.

Significant uplift was seen in brand impact and there was a dramatic increase in the number of website visits, reducing bounce rate and increasing conversions.

As a tool that demonstrably maximises ROI on TV advertising, this innovation is set to become essential for clients.

This case describes how the automaker Volkswagen used a one-off commercial to launch its latest Passat model in the United States.

'The Force', a single 30-second TV ad, initially aired just once during the 2011 Super Bowl - six months before the car would be available.

It subsequently went viral, becoming the most viewed video ad globally in 2011, with over 50m views.

Sales targets were surpassed, with 20,902 VW Passats sold, up 116% on the previous year, delivering $213m in incremental revenue.

12

Volkswagen VW Passat: Pleasure Before Business

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Cannes Creative Lions, Creative Effectiveness Lions, 2012

Volkswagen Australia wanted to use the launch of a new Passat model to inject some life into the medium-sized car segment, where marketing traditionally focused on communicating the cars' features to family-oriented, 'responsible' consumers. View Summary

Volkswagen Australia wanted to use the launch of a new Passat model to inject some life into the medium-sized car segment, where marketing traditionally focused on communicating the cars' features to family-oriented, 'responsible' consumers. It faced a paradox, however: the target audience of middle-aged Australians wants to get into nature and away from the city but needs a highly paid, generally white collar, job to be able to do it. This implies that the car they drive must look the work-part when carrying important clients or international visitors and, at the same time, must be able to carry a kayak or surfboard for leisure pursuits. The creative solution was to show that the new Volkswagen Passat squeezes living into Australian life with the tagline 'Pleasure before business'. The campaign ran in TV, print and digital and resulted in a 31% increase in sales while 90% of ad viewers felt it made the Passat seem more suitable for workdays and weekends.

13

Volkswagen VW Passat: The Force

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Cannes Creative Lions, Creative Effectiveness Lions, 2012

Volkswagen redesigned its Passat model for the US market, as it sought to become a high-volume player and move from 10,000 sales per year to 10,000 sales per month within five years.

With the launch of its new 200 model, Chrysler wanted to attract a dual audience: buyers nostalgic for the days when American cars reigned supreme and people who grew up buying imports. View Summary

With the launch of its new 200 model, Chrysler wanted to attract a dual audience: buyers nostalgic for the days when American cars reigned supreme and people who grew up buying imports. The problem was that American cars had become a symbol of American failure, and Chryslers were made in Detroit, a city that symbolises American cars. It was vital to change perceptions of the city in order to change perceptions of Chrysler. Detroit-born rapper Eminem, a representative of the city's tough, hardworking spirit, was engaged to appear in a two-minute commercial aired during Super Bowl 2011, in which he makes the case for Detroit, its people and Chrysler. The spot ended with the line "Imported From Detroit", which has become the pillar of an on-going campaign. Sales tripled in one month, and increased eight-fold over the year.

This case describes how the automaker Volkswagen used the Indian Premier League (IPL) annual cricket tournament as a platform to grow its overall awareness levels and sales of its Passat model in India. View Summary

This case describes how the automaker Volkswagen used the Indian Premier League (IPL) annual cricket tournament as a platform to grow its overall awareness levels and sales of its Passat model in India. But the IPL was already the country's most popular media property, so VW needed a strategy to make the event its own. The solution was a 360-degree campaign across multiple touchpoints, spanning everything from TV to match tickets. Volkswagen's advertising awareness increased from 38% to 60% and sales of the Passat increased by 1900%.

Subaru's Outback SUV had once been a key model in its line-up but sales in Canada were in long-term decline. View Summary

Subaru's Outback SUV had once been a key model in its line-up but sales in Canada were in long-term decline. Research indicated that most consumers in the segment didn't know much about the Outback, or thought of it as a wagon rather than a small SUV for day-to-day city driving. However, they were open to a new small SUV option that was more 'capable', which played to the advantage of Outback's AWD feature. "The uniquely capable small SUV" became the communications strategy. The campaign's big idea, "Maybe you should get out more", widened the target audience to those who offset a hardworking city lifestyle with outdoor activities. A TV execution humorously adapted an infomercial for the Snuggie (a garmet popular with couch-based TV watchers), backed by print ads featuring Outback drivers in serene landscapes beside "As Not Seen On TV" labels. Additional channels included a GetOutMore website and direct mail featuring a fake TV guide. An aggressive sales target of +59% was exceeded very early in the campaign, with average monthly sales increasing +214%.

17

VW Citi Golf: Goodbyeciti

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Cannes Creative Lions, Creative Effectiveness Lions, 2011

Launched in 1984, the Volkswagen Citi Golf was finally discontinued in October 2009. Conventional marketing would have left Citi to die quietly - but this campaign went completely the other way. View Summary

Launched in 1984, the Volkswagen Citi Golf was finally discontinued in October 2009. Conventional marketing would have left Citi to die quietly - but this campaign went completely the other way. Citi Golf was given a rousing send-off - the last ever Citi was taken on a final tour of South Africa, giving the whole nation a chance to say goodbye to the car and sign it - like a big farewell card. The farewell tour was an experiential and social media event, supported by a TV commercial using footage from the tour. This farewell tour was also used by Volkswagen to launch a new limited edition Mk1 Citi Golf, which generated at least R16m in extra profit on sales of this premium-margin vehicle. Amplified PR value for the campaign was R12.1m, three times the local motor industry benchmark.

18

Volkswagen UK: Top Gear Scirocco

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Cannes Creative Lions, Creative Effectiveness Lions, 2011

Despite Volkswagen having 19 different models in the UK, many British consumers are only aware of its classic, traditional models. View Summary

Despite Volkswagen having 19 different models in the UK, many British consumers are only aware of its classic, traditional models. This alienates the brand from drivers seeking cars with more styling and performance. This campaign focuses on VW's new Scirocco, a car praised by the motoring press for both its looks and driving performance, and thus well-placed to attract a new type of consumer - men aged 25-45 without children. The strategy was based around the popular BBC motoring show, Top Gear, and inviting the presenters to create a new advertisement for the Scirocco. This led to the model featuring for over 20 minutes on the show, the airing of the presenters commercials and the episode ultimately reaching a global BBC audience of 350 million viewers. Visits to the Scirroco pages of VW UK's website increased 200% and brand health tracking metrics all increased.

19

Nissan: The New Car

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Effie Worldwide, Bronze, North America Effies 2011

The Nissan LEAF was ready for the world. But was the world ready for the Nissan LEAF? A 100% electric car had never been sold in the mass market. View Summary

The Nissan LEAF was ready for the world. But was the world ready for the Nissan LEAF? A 100% electric car had never been sold in the mass market. And for good reason: it's built differently, fueled differently, and requires major behavioral shifts from its owners. Instead of apologizing for these differences, we celebrated them. The Nissan LEAF wasn't just another new car. It was the new car. By educating people about 'the new car,' we turned doubters into believers, believers into advocates, and advocates into future Nissan LEAF drivers.

Honda was struggling to make a success of their Civic sedan after five years as an independent organisation in South Africa (Honda vehicles were previously manufactured and distributed by Mercedes). View Summary

Honda was struggling to make a success of their Civic sedan after five years as an independent organisation in South Africa (Honda vehicles were previously manufactured and distributed by Mercedes). It was failing to connect with the consumer on an emotive level. The launch of a new model in 2006 was an opportunity to address this. A new advertising campaign ‘Feel moved’ was created utilising television, print and radio to turn the product into the hottest property in the C Sedan segment of the market. Not only did this change the way people viewed the brand, it resulted in a 445% year-on-year increase in sales and moved Honda into a new era in South Africa.

21

Chrysler Belgium Luxembourg: Dodge - Baby Made On Board

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Direct Marketing Association - US, Silver, ECHO Awards, 2010

Dodge hoped to successfully launch its new family car, the Journey, but had to make it work with the brand's rather macho image. View Summary

Dodge hoped to successfully launch its new family car, the Journey, but had to make it work with the brand's rather macho image. On a slim budget, the company decided to turn the family car image on its head, revising the familiar "Baby on Board" sign to read "Baby Made on Board." Radio, posters, and online efforts invited interested drivers to attend the launch and test drive the car - as well as its backseat. The company also promised a brand new Journey to the couple who returned in nine months with a baby. There were 47 cars were sold, and in nine months a winner was named.

22

Volkswagen UK: Polo Launch mailing

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Direct Marketing Association - US, Bronze, ECHO Awards, 2010

Volkswagen was challenged with promoting the Polo in a market where competitors' cars were perceived to be more stylish. View Summary

Volkswagen was challenged with promoting the Polo in a market where competitors' cars were perceived to be more stylish. The company appealed to a largely female audience with a campaign that emphasized quality and enduring style over trendiness. Before conducting a wider promotion, the company reached out to prospects with a personalized Polo preview. A mailing played on the theme of lasting impressions versus fads. Select prospects received a keepsake tin with mementos that might remind them of their own experiences, such as a cocktail umbrella from a special night or travel souvenir. Sales surpassed goals by 25%, and ROI was 13:3.

A 2007-8 launch campaign for the redesigned Toyota Camry (midsize passenger car), directed especially to Afro-Americans. Objective: change perceptions that it is a boring car. A segmentation study (described) showed that a key AA segment were the `Flossers’, a slang term for African Americans who “want to drive fast and be noticed”. The market was also skewed towards single females. Target: African American Femme Flossers, 25-40, with a household income of $70K+. Media: print, radio, online advertising, events and public relations. Results: substantial changes in image and purchase consideration. Ogilvy Awards Silver winner.

24

Ford - Ford SYNC Integrated Marketing Program

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Effie Worldwide, Silver, Hispanic, Effie Awards 2009

The challenge: how to sell Sync, an in-car entertainment and communications system, to young Latinos and help Ford strengthen its position in the car and crossover segments. View Summary

The challenge: how to sell Sync, an in-car entertainment and communications system, to young Latinos and help Ford strengthen its position in the car and crossover segments. The objectives were to drive product awareness and education, generate leads and stimulate product trial and purchase. An integrated marketing program leveraged the huge popularity of Grammy winner rock musician Juanes, an ideal spokesperson for Sync. The results? Over 7,000 qualified test-drives of Sync-enabled Ford vehicles, far exceeding the program’s initial goals.

25

Chrysler Sebring

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

Direct Marketing Association - US, Bronze Award, 2008

To attract prospective buyers for its latest Sebring sedan, Chrysler created a campaign that cleverly drove prospects to its website. View Summary

To attract prospective buyers for its latest Sebring sedan, Chrysler created a campaign that cleverly drove prospects to its website. Mouseovers on keywords at partner sites launched a popup window with a new spin: characters in the popups were annoyed by Web surfers, instead of the other way around. Interrupted while watching a soccer match or while shaving, characters urged surfers to leave them alone and simply go to the Chrysler site for more information. The campaign carefully placed the popups on select sites including auto sites and other online information sources that routinely influential auto purchases. Ad exposure exceeded goals by 66%.